Today in History for Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013

■ On Jan. 16, 2003, space shuttle Columbia, with Amarillo’s Rick Husband and Lubbock’s Willie McCool, blasted off under extremely tight security for what turned out to be its last flight; on board was Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. (The mission ended in tragedy Feb. 1, when the shuttle broke up during its return descent, killing all seven crew members.)

■ In 1547, Ivan IV of Russia (popularly known as “Ivan the Terrible”) was crowned Czar.

■ In 1883, the U.S. Civil Service Commission was established.

■ In 1912, a day before reaching the South Pole, British explorer Robert Scott and his expedition found evidence that Roald Amundsen of Norway and his team had gotten there ahead of them.

■ In 1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)

■ In 1935, fugitive gangster Fred Barker and his mother, Kate “Ma” Barker, were killed in a shootout with the FBI at Lake Weir, Fla.

■ In 1942, actress Carole Lombard, 33, her mother Elizabeth and 20 other people were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas while en route to California from a war-bond promotion tour.

■ In 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London.

■ In 1969, two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.

■ In 1978, NASA named 35 candidates to fly on the space shuttle, including Sally K. Ride, who became America’s first woman in space, and Guion S. Bluford Jr., who became America’s first black astronaut in space.

■ In 1987, Hu Yaobang resigned as head of China’s Communist Party, declaring he’d made mistakes in dealing with student turmoil and intellectual challenges to the system. Broadway columnist Earl Wilson died in Yonkers, N.Y., at age 79.

■ In 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

■ Ten years ago: AOL Time Warner chief executive Dick Parsons was tapped to be the media conglomerate’s new chairman, succeeding Steve Case.

■ Five years ago: President George W. Bush closed out his Mideast trip with a brief visit to Egypt, where he was welcomed by President Hosni Mubarak. Archbishop Earl Paulk, the 80-year-old leader of a megachurch, pleaded guilty in Atlanta to lying under oath about his sexual affairs and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation. (Paulk died in March 2009.)

■ One year ago: Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney fended off attacks from rivals during a debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; hours before the debate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman withdrew from the race and announced his support for Romney despite their differences. Jimmy Castor, funk and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter whose tune, “It’s Just Begun,” morphed into an anthem for generations of musical acts, died in Las Vegas at age 71.